$36 billion railway plan for Melbourne

New railway layout in Melbourne.

A 90km. underground railway that will connect stations on the existing suburban rail of Melbourne has been announced by Victoria state government.

The subway would carry passengers from the southeast to Melbourne Airport in 45 minutes according to government's "expert modeling". The cyclic route will link all main suburban lines starting with the Frankston line in the south through the northern and eastern suburbs to the Werribee Line in the southwest. The project will also include the construction of 12 brand new stations. Premier Daniel Andrews comments on the necessity of the forth-coming project: "Our 100-year-old radial transport network - built to move people in and out of the CBD (Central Business District) - can't keep up with a rapidly growing Victoria. No longer will Victorians have to travel into the CBD to get where they want to go. The project will change the way that people move around Melbourne - connecting our suburbs with major employment centers, universities and further education centers, hospitals and retail precincts."

Mr. Andrews also stated that additional data concerning the location of the new stations or how the state government, federal government and private partnerships would split the cost will not be provided for a while. "It's really important not to give away exactly where the new station will be because I don't want property developers basically speculating, going around buying up land. I also want to maximize the number of partners in this and if we are so specific about that detail then some may think that they don't necessarily have to contribute."

According to officials, the construction will begin within four years but the whole project will last for decades. The conception, early planning and design of railway's layout have been handled by Development Victoria, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the Office of the Coordinator General. The incumbent government states that if they are elected again in the sequent state election, $300 million will be provided for business case development, detailed design and community consultation and construction will begin by the end of 2022.